The GOP candidate for Missouri Senate said on a local TV talk show that victims of what he called 'legitimate rape' are unlikely to get pregnant. The statement was made after a question about allowing abortion in the event of a rape. The comments were reported by TPM's Evan McMorris-Santoro.

Specifically he said: “If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.”

The candidate, Congressman Todd Akin (who holds a modest lead over incumbent Clare McCaskill) is getting shelled for the remark by both conservatives and liberals.

McCaskill has been seen as a particularly weak Democratic incumbent, and the seat was likely a key get for Republicans as they pursue total control of Congress.